The topic of today’s blog is to address the Denial by the Jehovah’s Witness of the doctrine of the trinity. Now, I know the word trinity is not found in the Bible, and this was one of the first questions asked by the Jehovah’s Witnesses as they visited my house. However, the scriptures clearly teach the trinity, especially when speaking of the Godhead. The Godhead (trinity) can clearly be seen in the following examples:

1. Matthew 28:19 (KJV) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

2. Hebrews 1:8 (KJV) But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

3. John 1:1 (KJV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

4. 1 Timothy 3:16 (KJV) And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

5. Colossians 2:8-9 (KJV) 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

6. Titus 2:13 (KJV) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

7. Philippians 2:5-6 (KJV) 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

8. John 5:18 (KJV) Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

9. John 10:30 (KJV) I and my Father are one.

Now that we have looked at some verses which show the different forms of the Godhead, I would like to address the verse which the Jehovah’s Witnesses use to limit the Godhead to one, thus making Jesus Christ an inferior deity. Not only do they make Jesus an inferior deity, but they claim he is Michael the Archangel and the brother of Satan. Proving Jesus is not an inferior deity should also prove the other two claims are false.

Below I have attached the King James Version and the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witness version) for comparison before we attack this issue. Also note at the end of this article I will place the correctly diagrammed verse in Greek with the Interlinear translation for reference as additional refute to their rendering of John 1:1.

John 1:1-2 (King James Version) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God.

John 1:1-2 (New World Translation) In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This one was in the beginning with God.”

In the Jehovah Witnesses book “What Does the Bible Really Teach”, the following remarks are found:

Which translation of John 1:1, 2 agrees with the context? John 1:18 says: “No one has ever seen God.” John 1 Verse 14 clearly says that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . . we have beheld his glory.” Also, John 1:1-2 say that in the beginning he was “with God.” Can one be with someone and at the same time be that person? At John 17:3, Jesus addresses the Father as “the only true God”; so, Jesus as “a god” merely reflects his Father’s divine qualities.—Heb. 1:3.

Let’s address their question as listed above. “Can one be with someone and at the same time be that person?” Just because it is difficult to understand how God did something does not detract from what the Bible teaches. The Greek actually says in John 1:1-2 when rendered “exact”:᾿”Εν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος”, which translated states: “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and God was the word. However, the correct English translation is "...and the Word was God," not "and God was the word." The reason for this is because there is only one definite article ("ho"="the"). In a clause where two nouns are in the nominative ("subjective") form ("theos" and "logos"), then the noun with the definite article ("ho"="the") is the subject. In this case "ho logos" means that "the word" is the subject of the clause. This is also referenced in the Greek Diagram of John 1:1 below. Now, let’s combine this with John 1:3 (KJV) “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” This causes a serious problem for the Jehovah’s Witness because they claim that Jesus was a lower deity made by God. But wait, that’s not what John 1:3 says. According to John 1:3, Jesus made all things, but logically He could not have made himself. This is in perfect alignment with John 1:1 which says He was at the beginning. There is no way around the fact that Jesus, just as God, was eternal.

Now, consider Jesus’ words in John 10:30 which I have shown the Greek (ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν.) It is translated correctly in the King James Version. John 10:30 (KJV) “I and my Father are one”. This statement only has a remarkable impact if one understands how the Jews looked at the relationship between the father and the son. The son was considered equal in authority to his father and could perform business transactions in his father’s name. It is a totally different thought process than we have today. Today, we view the son as lesser in value or rank than the father. But, when you look at the verse, it is apparent the Jews of His day clearly understood what he meant. Notice the very next verse: John 10:31 (KJV) “Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him”. The Jews, not believing that he really was the Son of God thought he blasphemed by making himself equal to the (His) father. When Jesus said we are one, he not only confirmed his Diety, but also confirmed his authority and equality with the father. Consider carefully, the next comment in the Jehovah’s Witness book “What Does the Bible Really Teach?”

Is the rendering “a god” consistent with the rules of Greek grammar? Some reference books argue strongly that the Greek text must be translated, “The Word was God.” But not all agree. In his article “Qualitative Anarthrous Predicate Nouns: Mark 15:39 and John 1:1,” Philip B. Harner said that such clauses as the one in John 1:1, “with an anarthrous predicate preceding the verb, are primarily qualitative in meaning. They indicate that the logos has the nature of theos.” He suggests: “Perhaps the clause could be translated, ‘the Word had the same nature as God.’” (Journal of Biblical Literature, 1973, pp. 85, 87) Thus, in this text, the fact that the word the•os′ in its second occurrence is without the definite article (ho) and is placed before the verb in the sentence in Greek is significant. Interestingly, translators that insist on rendering John 1:1, “The Word was God,” do not hesitate to use the indefinite article (a, an) in their rendering of other passages where a singular anarthrous predicate noun occurs before the verb. Thus at John 6:70, JB and KJ both refer to Judas Iscariot as “a devil,” and at John 9:17 they describe Jesus as “a prophet.”

Not only is the statement above not correct according to all well-known Greek Scholars, but the remarks were taken out of context and against the authors wishes as shown below.

I have attached a letter at the bottom of this article titled “exhibit 1” which denies the author (Philip B. Harner) ever made this statement. The writer officially asked them to quit misquoting his work. Not only did they not quit, but have continued to do so against his wishes since 1950! Below, I will show that the New World Translation translators do not even follow their own rules except for when it is beneficial to their doctrine.

Notice the chart below showing the Jehovah’s Witnesses are inconsistent in their translation and do not follow their own rules as they claim is the standard for John 1:1-2. According to their own rules, they mis-translate John 1:6, 1:12, 1:13, and 1:18. Due to time and the number of errors in the New World Translation, I will limit the examples to John Chapter 1.

How the NWT Actually reads How the NWT should read if it followed its own rules:1:1b the Word was with God the Word was with God1:1c the Word was a god the Word was a god1:2 in the beginning with God. in the beginning with God.1:6 a man sent forth as a representative of God a man sent forth as a representative of a God1:12 to become God's children to become a God's children1:13 man's will, but from God man's will, but from a God1:18a No man has seen God No man has seen a God1:18b the only begotten God the only begotten a God

It should be clear from the above information and mistranslated examples taken from John chapter one of the New World Translation, that the Jehovah’s witnesses apply Greek grammatical rules in whichever method fits their doctrines.

LETTER TO WATCHTOWER REFUTING PUBLICATION QUOTATIONS

By Shawn Bogemann

Sources:

http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/b/r1/lp-e/43/1#h=1:0-1:139 (Located under the heading John 1:1-2)http://www.bible.ca/trinity/trinity-Harner.htmhttp://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/186870/1/Stern-1974-letter-from-Julius-Mantey-to-the-WTS